Building a rudder and need some advice

[ColinRowntree]

Hi all,
I am gong to build a rudder for my 1936 OT Yankee. Just got off the phone with Bob at Springield Centerbioard and he is selling me the pintles and gudgeons.

As i do a lot of shallow water travel over rock bottoms on local rivers here, i need to make a kickup rudder. I found pretty much exactly what I want on a thread here but with little detals as to width of the rudder stock, need for feathering, etc.

Here are the two photos on that thread, with the onlly details being:
"Here are pictures of the OT rudder which I altered to kick-up. I cut the side cheeks out of sheet brass, which I found I could cut on a wood-cutting band saw. The rudder has both pull-up and haul-down lines."

Anyone have any advice on this project? I'm doing it from scratch with no plans or template. Just me, a bandsaw, lots of hand tools and an enthusiastic outlook!

Thanks!
Colin

 

[Benson Gray]

See the links below for some more ideas.

Benson

more rudder questions

So, I have this beutiful mahogany rudder and I have already figured out the pull up line for beaching and shallow water. now I need to keep the rudder down but still allow it to kick up if I hit something. Any ideas out there? pictures would be great!

forums.wcha.org

kick-up rudder

I'm in the planning phase of fabricating a kick-up rudder for a 16' Old Town guide. I have Todd's book as a general guide,and am open to any tips and suggestions. Thanks in advance. Gil

forums.wcha.org

 

[ColinRowntree]

See the links below for some more ideas.

Benson

more rudder questions

So, I have this beutiful mahogany rudder and I have already figured out the pull up line for beaching and shallow water. now I need to keep the rudder down but still allow it to kick up if I hit something. Any ideas out there? pictures would be great!

forums.wcha.org

kick-up rudder

I'm in the planning phase of fabricating a kick-up rudder for a 16' Old Town guide. I have Todd's book as a general guide,and am open to any tips and suggestions. Thanks in advance. Gil

forums.wcha.org

Thank you Benson.
Anyone else reading this thread have any tips to add? All aspects are fair game and very mich apprecitated!

 

[David Satter]

On the forward edge/bottom of the rudder if you make it the correct width so that a piece of stem band can be bent and fitted. It makes great protection from rocks.

 

[ColinRowntree]

On the forward edge/bottom of the rudder if you make it the correct width so that a piece of stem band can be bent and fitted. It makes great protection from rocks.

Great tip! And I have an old stem band that I replaced on my OT already.

 

[Benson Gray]

The factory would also add stem bands to the edge of a rudder occasionally as shown in the link below.

Benson

Old Town canoe sailing rig evolution

The Old Town Canoe Company catalogs show an interesting progression of the standard sailing rigs over the years as shown in the catalog pages attached below. The first sailing canoe was shown in 1907 with tear drop shaped leeboards and no rudder. The next major change was to a more square...

forums.wcha.org

 

[ColinRowntree]

The factory would also add stem bands to the edge of a rudder occasionally as shown in the link below.

Benson

Old Town canoe sailing rig evolution

The Old Town Canoe Company catalogs show an interesting progression of the standard sailing rigs over the years as shown in the catalog pages attached below. The first sailing canoe was shown in 1907 with tear drop shaped leeboards and no rudder. The next major change was to a more square...

forums.wcha.org

Thanks Benson. And the bonus was the photos, with a little fussing aroiund in photoshop, gave me the dimernsions of the rudder which i was pretty vague on. Des this look like abiout the right dimensions, and also, is this an early OT rudder design that would be historically appropriate on my 1932 Yankee 16 footer?

Also. Is Mahogany a good choice of wood for the rudder and yoke at the top of it?

You are such a lifesend here on these thngs. Thanks so much!

 

[Gil Cramer]

Years ago I built a rudder for an Old town canoe. Because canoes are usually beached, it had a kick-up ridder so that the stem would not be stressed when the canoe was on shore. The kick-up part was aluminum simply because it would be easy to engage upon re-entry into the water. The design was very similar to a one piece wooden rudder.

 

[Benson Gray]

Does this look like about the right dimensions, and also, is this an early OT rudder design that would be historically appropriate on my 1932 Yankee 16 footer?

Also. Is Mahogany a good choice of wood for the rudder and yoke at the top of it?

The 1932 catalog page shown at https://forums.wcha.org/attachments/6729/ has a very shallow rudder which may not extend much beyond the keel. The rudder with the bang plate is from a 1936 Otca. The other rudder is from a 1958 Otca. The link below has more details about both canoes. Both of these rudders and yokes are made from mahogany. They have provided fine service for many years.

Benson

Rigging twin sail canoes

Chris Pearson had asked recently for more details about rigging a canoe with two sails. I decided to post the answer here since someone else might want to reference this information some day. There are several advantages to having two small sails instead of a single big one. The center of...

forums.wcha.org

 

[ColinRowntree]

The 1932 catalog page shown at https://forums.wcha.org/attachments/6729/ has a very shallow rudder which may not extend much beyond the keel. The rudder with the bang plate is from a 1936 Otca. The other rudder is from a 1958 Otca. The link below has more details about both canoes. Both of these rudders and yokes are made from mahogany. They have provided fine service for many years.

Benson

Rigging twin sail canoes

Chris Pearson had asked recently for more details about rigging a canoe with two sails. I decided to post the answer here since someone else might want to reference this information some day. There are several advantages to having two small sails instead of a single big one. The center of...

forums.wcha.org

That's exacty what i needed, Benson. Thanks so much.
Now, time to open photoshop and start extraplolating the dimensions of the rudder based on the canoe in this photo you linked to.
Many happy hours of confusion with a calculator and math await! (unless of course, someone happens to have the rudder dimensions kicking around and cares to share them here

 

[ALCEDO ATTHIS]

I find this

Stowe Canoe Restoration

 

[Benson Gray]

unless of course, someone happens to have the rudder dimensions kicking around

The rudder on the far left in the image below may help. It is 26 by 13.5 inches (extreme) and came from a 1927 canoe. The link below has more about this canoe. Let me know if you want another picture with a ruler or anything else.

Benson

Canoe serial # info

Hi: I just picked up 3 canoes. Can someone send the info on them please. one is an Old Town OTCA serial # 94733 17' with sail rig and a neat brass centerboard. The next is an Old Town #109182. Charles River model maybe. The last is a Kennebec sailing canoe with a tough to read # 22620 17'...

forums.wcha.org

 

[ColinRowntree]

The rudder on the far left in the image below may help. It is 26 by 13.5 inches (extreme) and came from a 1927 canoe. The link below has more about this canoe. Let me know if you want another picture with a ruler or anything else.

Benson

Canoe serial # info

Hi: I just picked up 3 canoes. Can someone send the info on them please. one is an Old Town OTCA serial # 94733 17' with sail rig and a neat brass centerboard. The next is an Old Town #109182. Charles River model maybe. The last is a Kennebec sailing canoe with a tough to read # 22620 17'...

forums.wcha.org

View attachment 56479

That's exactly what I needed for lofting before doing the cutting.
Thanks!
Colin

 

[ColinRowntree]

Looks like I've got the rudder figured out, Bob at Springfield Centerboard Company sent me the pintles and gudgeons along with a pattern and instructions for installing the stern mounted rudder with a yoke on top that attaches to ropes to go forward for steering.

My question now is, what is the best way to steer it? I've seen some with foot pedals or stirrups and others with hand free held hand grips dowels, but both of these seem a bit awkward, especially once fit it with a sailing rig.

Here is one intriguing design i spotted on Pinterest, but curious if anyone has seen anything like this and how well they perform.

Any and all suggestions are appreciated!

 

[Benson Gray]

There are lots of options. I use a simple loop with two pullies as shown in the link below. This makes it easy to find regardless of where you are sitting or how many people are in the canoe. Good luck,

Benson

Thread 'Lines recomended for Old town rig'

Apr 10, 2013

Does anyone know if there was a standard set, or recomendation for rigging the lines on an Old town sailer?

• Canoeal
• Replies: 6
• Forum: Canoe Sailing

 

[John Sand]

I've used a simple line with pulleys on the thwart, or tied to the inwale. If you size the line and blocks so that there's a little friction, you don't have to keep a hand on it at all times. You can learn to steer with either hand pretty quickly.